The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing dementia caused by vascular diseases; dementia associated with Parkinson""s disease; Lewy Body dementia; AIDS dementia; mild cognitive impairments; age-associated memory impairments; cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with neurologic and/or psychiatric conditions, including epilepsy, brain tumors, brain lesions, multiple sclerosis, Down""s syndrome, Rett""s syndrome, progressive supranuclear palsy, frontal lobe syndrome, and schizophrenia and related psychiatric disorders; cognitive impairments caused by traumatic brain injury, post coronary artery by-pass graft surgery, electroconvulsive shock therapy, and chemotherapy, by administering a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein. The invention also describes novel methods for treating and preventing delirium, Tourette""s syndrome, myasthenia gravis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, dyslexia, mania, depression, apathy, and myopathy associated with or caused by diabetes by administering a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein. The invention also describes novel methods for delaying the onset of Alzheimer""s disease, for enhancing cognitive functions, for treating and preventing sleep apnea, for alleviating tobacco withdrawal syndrome, and for treating the dysfunctions of Huntington""s Disease by administering a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein. A preferred cholinesterase inhibitor for use in the methods of the invention is donepezil hydrochloride or ARICEPT(copyright).
Novel cholinesterase inhibitors are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,841 and WO 98/39000, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. The cholinesterase inhibitors described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,841 include donepezil hydrochloride or ARICEPT(copyright), which has proven to be a highly successful drug for the treatment of Alzheimer""s disease.
There is a need in the art for new and improved treatments for other diseases, disorders, and syndromes that are characterized by symptoms of dementia and/or cognitive impairments. The invention is directed to these, as well as other, important ends.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing dementia associated with or caused by vascular diseases by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing dementia associated with or caused by Parkinson""s disease by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing the dementia associated with or caused by Lewy Body dementia by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing AIDS dementia by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing mild (minor) cognitive impairments, age-associated memory impairments, and/or for delaying the onset of Alzheimer""s disease by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with neurologic and/or psychiatric conditions by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with epilepsy (including cognitive impairments and/or dementia caused by or associated with the treatments for epilepsy) by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with or caused by brain tumors by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with or caused by brain lesions or other inflammatory brain diseases by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with or caused by multiple sclerosis by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with or caused by Down""s syndrome by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with or caused by Rett""s syndrome by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with or caused by progressive supranuclear palsy by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with or caused by frontal lobe syndrome by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia associated with or caused by schizophrenia and related psychiatric disorders by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments and/or dementia caused by antipsychotic medications by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments caused by traumatic brain injury (e.g., post head trauma) by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments caused by post coronary artery by-pass graft surgery or by ischemic vascular disease by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments associated with or caused by electroconvulsive shock therapy (including cognitive impairments caused by the seizures which can be a side-effect of electroconvulsive shock therapy) by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing cognitive impairments associated with or caused by chemotherapy by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing delirium by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing Tourette""s syndrome by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing myasthenia gravis (including Lambert-Eaton syndrome) by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing the cognitive impairments and/or attentional symptoms associated with or caused by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing autism by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing dyslexia by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing mania and/or depression in patients by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing apathy by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention describes novel methods for treating and preventing myopathy associated with or caused by diabetes by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention also describes novel methods for enhancing cognitive functions by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention also describes novel methods of treating and preventing sleep apnea by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention also describes novel methods for alleviating tobacco withdrawal syndrome by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention also provides novel methods for treating the cognitive and/or behavioral dysfunctions in Huntington""s disease by administering to a patient a therapeutically effective amount of at least one of the cholinesterase inhibitor compounds described herein.
The invention is described in more detail below.